3 posts tagged “cavite”
It's moments like these that define freedom for me. The early morning sun and the clear blue sky, looking as if both were close enough to touch. Sparse cumulus clouds slowly rolling by whilst a strong, constant breeze blows through the trees. It's nature's orchestra, a genre of music no one can find fault with.
For some reason, the sound of the wind, with its soft roar, is cathartic for me; more so in this context. It's as if the buildings and roads disappear, and I find myself alone with the trees. Every trace of civilization - even if for just a few minutes and save for the clothes on my back - disappears and takes all my problems and worries away with it. Just the wind's soothing sound enables me to shut everything out and focus on the natural environment, and for a few sweet moments, just forget everything. Like drinking delicious iced tea on a really hot day, it's incredibly refreshing.
I spent the night in Silang, Cavite, to avoid the insanity that usually occurs during the celebration of the coming of the new year. I only slept four hours, and spent the better part of the wee hours of the morning awake. But it's cool. The silence enabled me to focus and study and write. I started reading the Bible again (I've read it in it's entirety for 2 times already), as well as being able to come up with some scripts and some missing bits and pieces for the new comic.
On waking up, I walked around a bit, then sat down near the raised flower bed beside the factory wall to soak up the sun. Afterwards, it was breakfast - sinangag, itlog and ham.
Then, snap back to reality.
Had to head back to Manila to attend to several matters. People mourning the dead. Jobs. A broken mouse. Strained relationships. A dwindling bank account balance. It doesn't matter.
On the way back home, we stopped by the Caltex gas station along the Manila-bound part of the South Super Highway just off the Southwoods entry. I decided to pick up a short Americano at Starbucks, to cap off a great morning.
It's 2008, and I guess I could say it's a good start. I feel good.
Of all the ways to prepare coffee, Filipinos have prolly chosen the worst way of doing it - boiling. Regardless of the roast or grind, we (and by we I mean they) will simply dump an unmeasured amount of coffee (based simply on tantsa, or instinct, if you will) into a pot of water and bring it to a complete boil for five minutes.
The result? Coffee burned beyond recognition.
A prime example of this was when we were visiting our relatives south of the capital. A traditional Filipino breakfast is always inclusive of coffee along with pan de sal (bread rolls) or eggs and stir-fried rice; I hung around the kitchen while they prepped breakfast. Being the elitist bastard [poseur?] that I am, I immediately expostulated on their incorrect method of brewing.
I asked them all to get cups and to taste the coffee they had just made. It was bland, they said, but also adding that they had not yet added milk and sugar so it was to be expected. On this point I decided to give them a crash course in coffee preparation and cupping (with what limited facilities were available to us).
We started off with a clean pot of water (4 cups), bringing it to a boil, and letting it cool off for a few seconds. Once it was off the boil, we added the proportional amount of coffee grounds (around two table spoons per cup - no scoop was available to us at that time). After four minutes, I transferred the coffee to a pitcher, running it through a strainer to remove the used grounds.
Next, I asked them to get two cups each, one for the coffee they boiled, and another for our current batch. I asked them to smell both. The boiled coffee had a burnt aroma, while the ones we made afterward had a subtle fruity aroma. With that done, we all took sips from both cups, noting the mouthfeel and flavor of each brew. The boiled coffee tasted very bland and had very thin body - much like flavored water; the properly brewed coffee had a medium body and winey flavor with cherry tones.
They weren't used to the strong flavor of properly brewed coffee (as opposed to next to no flavor of boiled coffee), so they were understandably reluctant. I gave them some notes on coffee origins and flavors, and some other tips to find the kind of coffee they'd like. After giving it some thought, they started to appreciate notable differences of the twain.
Then, come lunch time, they went right back to boiling it. Oh well.
Notes:
The coffee grounds were purchased from a market in Amadeo, Cavite. It was unevenly ground, with mostly coarse particles and some slightly finer particles. We were unsure of the kind of bean or if it was a blend or single origin, since it was purchased by weight (no mark or brand). It was definitely unlike the coffee I tasted a while back in Bag of Beans, which while of the same origin, had a earthy, citrusy tones.
We spent the weekend with some relatives in Silang, Cavite, and around Tagaytay. The weather was awesome; by the time we were leaving, the fog was already crawling up the mountainside and limited road visibility to near zero. Adding to it was the constant rains. It was great!
So I just settled for what I could do: Stare blankly at the wall. I do it pretty well, methinks.
Besides that, I wrote down a handful of haiku during the twilight hours; about two very good ones, and the rest needing revision. The environment was just perfect for writing poetry; surrounded by a forest and a cold, foggy, rainy night... inspiration came without too much effort.
Anyway, come morning, activity picked up, and we cooked up some coffee and breakfast, which was interesting. Most Filipinos boil coffee (which I think is stupid since that way the coffee gets burned), and after they did theirs, I taught them the right way to do it with the limited devices available to them at the time (more on this in another post).
After that, we just lounged around, playing cards, shooting pool, and generally just trading jabs with each other. And there was this thing too:
But I had some anyway, since Starbucks' tea bores me. Besides, I had a waffle to console me. :3
Now the cool thing about this particular Starbucks branch in Tagaytay was that it was situated on the mountainside facing Taal lake, plus the recently added upper deck. The open-air upper deck that provided an unobstructed view of the mountainside, the lake, and the volcano... it was majestic. It was raining, it was foggy, and the view from the deck was like something out of an ancient Chinese novel, if you will.
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